Copyright by Micaela Nerio Obledo 2011 - The University of Texas ...

Preclassic, with only adult males from K’axob having items of this material in their
assemblage. No adult males at Cuello are found with non‐jade greenstone in the
Middle Preclassic, though a single female is found with a singular object of this
substance. Adult males at both Colha and K’axob are interred with goods of this
material category during the Middle Preclassic. Upon the transition to the Late
Preclassic, no definitively sexed adult males at Cuello are interred with non‐jade
greenstone. Far more adult males from Colha than K’axob are found with this
material. Interestingly, adult females from K’axob are found with more non‐jade
greenstone items than are adult females from Cuello over the course of the
Preclassic.
Based on the data above, it is clear that non‐jade greenstone was universally
available to all three sites of study during the Preclassic, though placement within
the funerary assemblages of different demographic groups was decidedly varied.
The universal availability of non‐jade greenstone to all three sites indicates that they
were all independently engaged in long distance trade in order to obtain this
material. Dunham (1996: 328) does note the presence of non‐jade greenstone
deposits within the Maya Mountains of Belize roughly 150‐200 KM from the sites of
study. However, Buttles (2002) has noted the lack of material matches between
these deposits and those greenstone specimens from Colha and surrounding sites;
these specimens are housed at the Department of Archaeology in Belmopan.
Therefore, it is unlikely that these non‐jade greenstone items are fashioned from
materials with origins in the Maya Mountains.
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